Award-winning Inverness fish and chip shop strikes back at celebrity chef's comments after chippy price row
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The owner of an award-winning Inverness fish and chip restaurant reacted to comments made by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge concerning the quality of produce used in chippies across the country.
Addressing criticism over the price of a fish supper at his Harrod's restaurant in London – which recently went up from £35 to £37 – Mr Kerridge said people criticising him didn't "understand how it’s priced".
In an interview on the Radio Times he said: "Fish and chips was always seen as cheap, fast food, and I get that because of where I grew up.
“The fish in most chippies is frozen at sea, in a big block, a year ago, then cut up and portioned.
“The potatoes are maybe four weeks old, have gone through a chipper, been cleaned and put into cheap oil. They’re wrapped in paper, with malt vinegar and salt.”
Replying to a recent story appeared on The Independent, David Mcleod, who owns Mcleod's Fish and Chips on Grant Street, shared on social media: "I can’t speak for every chippie up and down the country, but I do feel that these comments are a wee bit of an insult to the industry and the majority of us chippies who work very hard and pride ourselves on our fish and chips, by sourcing and using the best ingredients we can find.
"I don’t know many chippies in Scotland that don’t take pride in their product and the supply chain we have here.
He also spoke about the investment in equipment and defending the quality of suppliers they rely on and suggested that the restaurant being in Harrods would be "defence enough rather than make the rest of us look cheap and nasty".
Most customers supported Mcleod's statement – however among the replies one said that the Inverness chippy was "very unique" and that Mr Kerridge had a point in saying that many chippies bring in frozen produce.
